Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

existing designations. The Department also revoked the designations of two organizations. The
Department of the Treasury also designated organizations and individuals under E.O. 13224.
FTO/E.O. 13224 group designations: See Chapter 6, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, for
further information on any of these groups.
On January 26, the Department of State amended the FTO and E.O. 13224 designations of al-
Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) to include the Islamic State of Iraq as an alias.
On February 24, the Department of State designated the Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT)
under E.O. 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 13.
On May 24, the Department of State designated the Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB) under
E.O. 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on May 30.
On September 7, the Department of State designated the Haqqani Network (HQN) under
E.O. 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 19.
On September 28, the Department of State revoked the Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK)’s
designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a Specially Designated Global
Terrorist under E.O. 13224.
On October 4, the Department of State amended the designation of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) to include Ansar al-Shari’a as an alias under E.O. 13224 and as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization on October 5.
On December 11, the Department of State amended the designation of al-Qa’ida in Iraq
(AQI) to include al-Nusrah Front as an alias under E.O. 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization.
E.O. 13224 designations:
On January 5, the Department of State designated the al-Qa’ida Kurdish Battalions (AQKB).
Established in 2007 from the remnants of other Kurdish terrorist organizations, AQKB
believes the leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government are traitors and has claimed
responsibility for a number of attacks against Kurdish targets in Iraq, including a May 2007
attack in Erbil, Iraq, in which 19 people were killed.
On January 26, the Department of State designated German citizens Yassin and Monir
Chouka, who are fighters, recruiters, facilitators, and propagandists for the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The
Chouka brothers are also senior members of Jundallah Media, the IMU’s media production
arm, and have claimed responsibility for numerous IMU attacks, including one which killed
17 people, including five Americans.
On January 26, the Department of State designated Mevlut Kar, a facilitator and recruiter for
the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU). He is currently wanted by the Government of Lebanon and
was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for attempting to establish an al-Qa’ida cell in
Lebanon. Kar is also implicated in the 2007 bomb plot targeting U.S. military installations
and American citizens in Germany, and provided more than 20 explosives detonators to
members of the IJU.
On June 21, the Department of State designated Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau
and senior operatives Khalid al-Barnawi and Abubakar Adam Kambar. Shekau is the most
visible leader of Boko Haram, while Khalid al-Barnawi and Abubakar Adam Kambar have
ties to Boko Haram and close links to al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb. Under their
leadership, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on government
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